Microsoft Bets on AI with new Windows Chief Pavan Davuluri
REDMOND, WA – September 30, 2025 – Microsoft has consolidated its Windows engineering teams under a single leader, Pavan Davuluri, signaling a major strategic shift towards an AI-powered future for the operating system. The move, announced earlier this year, reverses a division that separated the platform’s operating system engineering from its client-side management for over a year, and represents a return to a unified Windows organization reminiscent of the era led by Terry Myerson, who departed in 2018.
While core infrastructure like networking and virtualization will remain within Azure Core, the majority of Windows development now falls under Davuluri’s purview. This reorganization is directly linked to Microsoft’s ambition to transform Windows into what Davuluri terms an “Agentic OS,” a platform fundamentally driven by artificial intelligence.
But who is the engineer now tasked with steering the future of Windows?
Who is Pavan Davuluri?
Pavan Davuluri is a seasoned Microsoft veteran with over two decades of experience within the company, having joined in 2001. His career began with work on Windows Phone and Surface devices, and has encompassed numerous engineering and leadership roles focused on client operating systems, device integration, and hardware-software optimization.
Born in India, Davuluri holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, followed by a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland.He initially joined Microsoft in 2011 as a Reliability Component Engineer, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Davuluri quickly became a key figure in the development of microsoft’s hardware offerings, playing a crucial role in the design of the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro – products instrumental in establishing Microsoft as a significant hardware brand.
Following the departure of Panos Panay, Microsoft’s Surface and Windows chief, in September 2023, Davuluri initially assumed leadership of Surface engineering. This month,he was promoted to President of Windows and Devices,placing him at the helm of Microsoft’s flagship platform as it embarks on a new,AI-driven chapter.
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Published By: Divya Bhati
Published On: September 30, 2025
